The residence requirement for a conferral of Australian citizenship application is based on the time you have lived in Australia and the time you have spent outside Australia.
The Residence Calculator helps you estimate the number of days you have lived in Australia.
Use the results from the Residence Calculator as a guide only. The Residence Calculator does not automatically transfer any:
- information held within departmental systems to provide you an estimate
- information you enter into your citizenship application.
We base the assessment of your residential eligibility on the data we hold within departmental systems at the time of lodgement of application.
General residence requirement
To be eligible for Australian citizenship by conferral, you must have:
- been living in Australia on a valid visa for 4 years immediately before the day you apply
- held a permanent visa or a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV) for the last 12 months immediately before the day you apply, and
- not been absent from Australia for more than 12 months in the past 4 years, and no more than 90 days in the 12 months immediately before applying.
If you are an SCV holder you will continue to be considered a permanent resident for citizenship purposes while outside Australia, provided you held an SCV immediately before your departure.
Check whether any
exemptions, discretions or special circumstances apply to you.
New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa or a New Zealand stream Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa
Changes to the permanent residency commencement date apply for certain New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa or a New Zealand stream Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa.
Check your eligibility.
How to use the Residence Calculator
To use the Residence Calculator, you need to enter exact dates of your:
- permanent residence
- lawful residence
- intended lodgement and
- travel in and out of Australia in the last 4 years.
Permanent residence date
You need to know the date your permanent residency started.
In most circumstances, your permanent residency starts on the date:
- we granted the permanent visa when you were in Australia or
- you first entered Australia on a permanent visa.
Lawful residence date
You need to know the date your 'lawful residence' started, that is, when you first started living in Australia on a valid visa. If you are unsure of the exact date your ‘lawful residence’ started, an estimated date can be used as long as you are confident that it was more than four years ago.
For example, you might have arrived in Australia on 1 June 2012 holding a temporary visa. Then on 4 September 2016, we granted you a permanent visa. So, your lawful residence date is 1 June 2012 and your permanent residence date is 4 September 2016.
Intended lodgement date
Your intended lodgement date is the date you plan to lodge your application for Australian citizenship.
Absences from Australia
You need to know the dates you travelled in and out of Australia in the last 4 years. Select
'Add details' to enter those dates in the Residence Calculator. Estimated dates can be used as a guide.
If you plan to travel before lodging your application, include those future dates as well.
